Two of country music’s biggest superstars have been forced to pledge their allegiances to the biggest superstar of them all.
And now all Kenny Chesney and Travis Tritt can do is pray that the Beyhive is in a forgiving mood.
Let’s start with Chesney and his perceived sin…
The artist was in attendance last Wednesday at the CMA Awards when Beyonce took to the stage alongside The Dixie Chicks fora fun rendition of her hit “Daddy Lessons.”
But camera captured Chesney’s reaction at one point during the performance and… well…
… we’ll let @TheFactsofShade sum it up for us:
“Beyoncé is SLAYING for these white folks… But Keith Chesney doesn’t seem impressed,” wrote that Twitter user.
Check out the following video to see Chesney not exactly getting down with the beat:
Made aware of the criticism coming his way, Chesney actually issued a statement that emphasized his affection for Beyonce:
“I love Beyoncé … I loved her Super Bowl performance, her sense of how to make the music hit really hard – and give it drama when she’s onstage.
“The idea her fans were so quick to judge me, or know what I was thinking, doesn’t feel like the woman I’ve always imagined Beyoncé to be — and honestly, the people who love her music, either.”
Amazing.
Only Beyonce has the power to make a fellow celebrity have to come out with an explanation for actions that appear to be a slight.
And Chesney wasn’t even the only artist forced to do so!
On Thursday, Travis Tritt took to Twitter after a concert in order to both thank his fans… and take a shot at Beyonce’s CMA Awards appearance.
“Thanks to everyone who came out to see us in Bowling Green, KY tonight,” he wrote.
“Sorry we weren’t able to do any Beyoncé for all the country fans. FYI – My band and I are gonna try to work up Beyoncé’s ‘All The Single Ladies’ for all you die hard country fans who love traditional music!”
Added the crooner:
“I want to know when the BET or SoulTrain awards are gonna ask a country artist to perform on their awards show?”
As you might expect, Beyonce fans lashed out at Tritt over these comments.
“Why don’t you do a collaboration with Beyoncé? You might generate more hits,” one user wrote, while another added:
“If you hate pop music influencing country that’s fine. Singling out Beyonce is not. Daddy Lessons actually fits the genre.”
In response to the backlash, Tritt jumped on Twitter again to clarify his initial remarks.
“As I see it, country music has appealed to millions for many years,” he wrote. “We can stand on our own and don’t need pop artists on our awards shows.
“I love honest to God country music and feel the need to stand up for it at all costs. We don’t need pop or rap artists to validate us.”
That’s not an unreasonable point.
The Beyonce appearance, sadly, also generated a lot of hate from racist trolls.
They inundated the official CMA Awards social media sites with so many negative comments that producers gave in at one point and removed references to Beyonce.
Then, a few days later, Donald Trump slammed Beyonce and Jay Z for their lyrics during a concert in support of Hillary Clinton.
Unlike Tritt and Chesney, however, the Presidential candidate may no effort to walk his insults back.
Fortunately, Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks summed everything up best.
She tweeted lyrics from Beyoncé’s “Formation” over the weekend, throwing subtle shade at the haters in the process:
“You know you dat Bitch when you cause all this conversation,” she wrote. “Always stay gracious best revenge is your paper.”
AMEN!